Shahu Sambhaji Raje Bhosale (or Shahuji) (1682–1749 CE) was the fourth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire created by his grandfather, ChhatrapatiShivaji, and was officially the Raja of Satara (now in Maharashtra, India). More popularly known as Chattrapati Shahuji, he came out of captivity by the Mughals and survived a civil war to gain the throne in 1708.[1]

He was the son of the second Chattrapati Sambhaji, who was killed by the Mughals in 1689.

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During the Mughal-Maratha war of 27 years Shahuji was imprisoned by the Mughals at the age of 7 years after the fall of Raigad fort, the Maratha capital in Feb. 1689, when his parents were also captured.

During his captivity, the Mughals raised him as a prince and never compromised his honor or that of his mother. He spent his entire childhood and youth, from age 7 to age 25, in the custody of the Mughals. He had passed through hardships and all uncertainties of life. Born a prince, he became a prisoner at the age of 7, became a Chattrapati at the age of 26 and saw the empire spreading all over the continent. These events strengthened him.

When the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707, a war of succession ensued between his surviving sons. At the insistence of Mughal general Zulfiqar Khan and Nusrat Jang, Shahu was freed from imprisonment by Prince Muhammad Azam Shah. After the Battle of Jajua, the victor and next emperor Bahadur Shah also took the side of Shahuji against Tarabai at the insistence of his general Zulfiqar Khan, but under conditions which rendered him a vassal of the Mughal Empire. His mother was still held captive to ensure his good behavior, and he could only obtain her release in 1719 when the Marathas became strong enough.

After his release Shahuji had to contend with a competing claim by his aunt, Tarabai, and her son, Raja Shivaji II (son of Rajaram). She set up a competing Kingdom of Kolhapur. With the assistance of Dhanaji Jadhav, Balaji Vishwanath who was later appointed the Peshwa or prime minister, and SardarKhanderao Dabhade who was later appointed the Senapati (Marathi: Commander-in-Chief), Shahuji prevailed over Tarabai in 1709 and consolidated his power in Satara; Tarabai ruled from the rival kingdom of Kolhapur.

It was under the Shahu that the Marathas empire became the largest in India at this time. The Maratha empire expanded in four directions, in the north by Scindia, Holkar, in the east by Bhonsle, in the west by Dabhade and in the south by Fateh-Singh Bhosale and others.

Shahuji's primary accomplishment was in stabilising the fractured Maratha empire after the defeat of the Mughals by the Marathas. During the War of 27 Years many Maratha nobles became powerful. He was the binding force of the Marathas.

Shahuji was instrumental in giving space to new talents irrespective of their background. During his tenure almost all sections of society rose to power. Perhaps the Maratha empire was the most socially mobile empire which accommodated many new socio-economic groups which hitherto were miles away from power and that caused a socio-political revolution.

A mural of the Great Chhatrapati Shahuji I near Parvati temple, a part of the Peshwa Memorial atop Parvati Hill in Pune. In this mural, he is seen bestowing Peshwaship upon Balaji Bajirao Peshwa

His reign saw rise of many like Balaji, Shinde and many more talented people who later became the strong support on which the Maratha empire expanded and flourished, especially Peshwa Bajirao and the Holkars in the North. He is credited with establishing the position of Peshwa, which later became a hereditary position for those from a humble background.

Shahuji had four wives, and fathered two sons and four daughters. He adopted two sons, Meherban Shrimant Fatehsinh I Raje Sahib Bhonsle and Shrimant Rajaram II Raje Bhonsle Chhatrapati Maharaj Sahib in 1745 (who succeeded him as the Raja of Satara)

After Shahuji's death in 1749 his adopted son, Rajaram II succeeded him, but he was largely incompetent. The Maratha empire was primarily governed by the Peshwas from then onwards, with the Chattrapatis remaining the titular head.